Time keeps on ticking into the future
by piccolabimba
Summary: Ranma leaves Nerima and heads for the states to live a more peaceful life, being fed up with everyone. Four years later, the confusion joins him there. ON HIATUS FOR SUMMER
1. We meet again

_Time Keeps On Ticking into the Future_

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Ranma ½ characters. Nor do I want to. Believe me. I'm just messin' with 'em. No harm done. But, I did invent everybody else and therefore own them.

A/N: this starts a little after our friends graduate from high school. In my book, the Ranma1/2 series starts in 1988 (that was when it was first published, so we'll just pretend that is the year of the story for reference in this fic.) Trivia note: In 1993, I was 4 years old. You do the math. The beginning is weird, but I will explain it all later on down the line!

Prelude

_Tendo Dojo, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan 1990 _

As she was going to bed, Akane passed by Ranma's room. The door was partially open.

"Akane. Come in here a minute."

Sitting on the roof of the old Tendo house, his last words came floating back at her:

_When we're old enough, come to visit me. Goodbye, Akane. _

Red Rose out of the east

Tell the love I love least

"Who knows?"

Red rose out of the west

Tell the love I love best

"Love is a rose"

Only a rose… I give you

Only a song… Dying away

Only a smile… To keep in memory

Until we meet

Another day

Only a rose to whisper

Blushing as roses do

I'll bring along a smile or a song for anyone

Only a rose for you

Part 1:

1-We Meet Again

_Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts, San Francisco, California, USA 1993_

The last of the classes for the day had just ended and Ranma was fixing it up for the next day. His friend/student/partner/roommate was also there, helping. He and Riley had little sparring matches after classes every once and a while, just for fun.

Today was one of those days. As they were about to start, they heard the bell on the door chime and then the door of the actual class room swish open. Naturally, they both looked up to see a character in the doorway, wearing an old brown cloak, with a hood that cast a shadow on his face, hiding it. As soon as he caught sight of the owner of the dojo, he proclaimed in a loudish and a little bit high pitched, accented voice "Ranma Saotome, prepare yourself!" Our friend turned to the stranger and looked at him for a moment with a puzzled look.

"Don't I know you?" he shrugged as he responded with a bit of a grin. "Sure, whatever."

Riley just stood back as the strange person in the cloak attacked. Ranma dodged and tapped him on the shoulder. They're match continued with Ranma dodging and tapping, put not really hitting the other. This irritated the other boy, who was trying his hardest. Riley could see that the stranger was not doing this. If the hits ever connected, they would hurt. Badly. There was a lag as both parties slowed their attacks and started circling each other. Riley thought that this might not be a bad time to comment. "So, Ranma, figured out what style he uses yet?" It was a joke, but the other man responded seriously, but still making light of it.

"Oh, yeah. I know it. I've fought against it so much; I would be stupid if I didn't. It's Tendo Style of Anything Goes. And there is only one master and one heir."

"Hmmm. Anything Goes? The same style as you!"

The voice that had only spoken once before interrupted. "Ha! Tendo form is a much purer form of Anything Goes! This baka's school is just a collection of other people's work! It's a jumbled mess! The only original things are for thievery!" the stranger sneered in the heavily accented and slightly high pitched English.

"Where'd you get that idea?!" They went back to fighting intensely. Finally, the cloaked one tripped, fell to the ground and was very slow in getting up. Ranma walked over to his friend with his back to his opponent. He didn't have to worry about him because he knew that it was over.

"Do you know who that guy is?" Riley peered behind his friend, glancing at the figure as it rose.

"Yeah. That's Akane Tendo, the heir to the Tendo School of Anything Goes…" a smile played on his face.

Riley looked between the rising figure and his roommate, more than a little worried that Ranma wasn't paying attention to his previous opponent. The challenger was rising to his feet "…And 'he' is a 'she'." Ranma informed his friend.

As he spoke, the girl in the cloak had stood up and was advancing on the two others. "I'm so glad that you recognized me, Ranma." Riley was surprised at the sarcastic voice very near him. He turned to see the girl, Akane Tendo, standing next to him. Her hood had fallen off of her head and onto her shoulders, giving him a chance to glance at her face. She was an Asian girl about Ranma's age, with longish black-blue hair, tied back, brown eyes and clear skin. She had a good figure, an athletic one, and she had her hands on her hips and a scowl on her pretty face.

"You are acquainted, I presume?"

"You might say that." He then turned to the girl. "Why the cloak, Akane?"

"Thought it would be fun. You know, the whole 'mysterious opponent' thing. 'Oh! She's really a girl! What is the world coming to?'"

"You didn't fool me." Ranma smirked. Akane winked at Riley.

"Not you, but your friend." Riley simply remained stunned.

"Ok, Akane, formalities over with, what do you want here?" Ranma sighed, looking at the floor.

"-You can probably guess that.-" She answered in Japanese as she too sighed and dropped her expression and her hands. Riley stood watching the interaction between these two. He was sure that it would prove interesting. Ranma was still looking at the floor. Both of their attitudes and language had changed almost instantaneously.

"-Yeah. I guess I do.-" Both looked uncomfortable. Silence prevailed and Riley was confused. Again. Or was it still? Who was this girl? Why did Ranma know her? Why was she here? He opened his mouth to ask about it, but Ranma beat him to it. He had suddenly gotten angry and turned to the girl with a look that Riley had never seen, but Akane had.

"-Well, you can just go and tell them that I won't! … You know that I'm not going back anytime soon. So, are you visiting me, or are you on a mission? Why did they send you?-"

The girl had resumed her previous stance and scowl.

"-Both! You know perfectly why! Did you really think that I wanted to leave the school to come on a wild goose chase after you, baka? -"

Though the conversation was in Japanese, he still got the general idea. They were having an argument. That wasn't hard to figure out. But about what? Riley was pondering the enigma. The two obviously knew each other. Though they weren't friends. Ranma had said that they had sparred before. Or "fight" as he put it. It was apparent that the girl Akane was here for something, though she didn't look very pleased at being there. But why had she attacked him? Was she just mad at someone and he was the first person she could justify her actions to? They were still arguing, and it was impossible to tell what was going on or who had the upper hand.

"-Omiai, or not, I'm not going back!-" His arms were crossed and looked defiant.

"-Like I care about that! That's over, anyway. They want you back. Besides, " she said softly, 'remember the promise?-" The girl tossed back at him.

"-Sure I do, but if they sent you and you didn't come because ya wanted to, it doesn't fulfill it anyways.-"

"-Fine then. But it was you who up and left. If you won't go back, then I have to stay here until you change your mind. I was told to not return with out you. Unless you utterly refuse, of course.-"

"-Ok. I utterly refuse. Now, can you go back to the dojo and leave my life alone-?"

"-Your mother wants you back-"

'Ahh, yes. The mothers. Always expect the girls to pull them up.' Ranma grimaced.

At Akane's most recent statement, Ranma looked as if he would give in for a minute to whatever the conversation was about. Maybe she had brought up his mom or something. Then his resolve returned.

"-Don't bring her into this Akane. It's like saying your mother wants me back.-" He had hit a nerve with that last statement, whatever it was. Riley could see that. Akane's face got distorted and sorrow passed over her face a moment. Tears were quickly wiped away before she returned to her anger.

"-How dare you insult my mother?!-"

She lunged, and a huge wooden mallet materialized in her hands. Riley blinked. Ranma was lying on the ground, with a huge lump on his head. He sat up and glared at Akane. "-Don't say anything, baka. You know better than to insult Mother.-"

'Geez. What was wrong with this girl? Why's she out for Ranma's blood or something? What's up?' Riley was once again thinking. Ranma was still alive and was getting up, ready, no doubt, to fling some antagonistic comment at the enraged girl.

"-Geez, Akane, you would think that you would grow up a little! You're 21 for Pete's sake!-" A pause resumed. That was when the boy who had been silent for the duration of the fight finally spoke up. Hoping to make the peace. The girl seemed to have started to glow.

"Umm, Akane, right?" The enraged girl turned towards him.

"Yes?" She went from glowing to being calm in a matter of seconds.

"I was just wondering…well, I don't have any clue what you're talking about, and I'm sure that it is none of my business, but I do know that there is no way for you to leave now, I'm sure that we could find you a hotel or something to stay at tonight…" he trailed off. He had become increasingly nervous as the girl watched him talk and her expression was confused. Ranma turned towards Akane.

"-He wants to say that you can't go home tonight, but we'll find you a good hotel or something.-" Akane just blinked and looked at the boys.

"I'll just stay here. That was what I've been planning to do. I'll just sleep in your guest room or even in your dojo, Ranma." Her audience sweat dropped.

"Uh, Akane…"

"And who is this?" She cut him off and turned to Riley.

"My name's Riley Thomas." He stuck out his hand. She looked at it and bowed.

"Akane Tendo. Pleased to meet you." Feeling more than a little embarrassed, Riley quickly stuffed the offensive hand into his pocket. Or tried. He was wearing a gi so it just slipped around and finally ended up behind his back.

"I'm…uh… Ranma's roommate." For some reason this girl was unnerving him. She smiled sweetly and nodded.

"I see. Do you stay at his dojo too?"

"Well, not really, see we split the rent of an apartment." She turned on Ranma reproachfully.

"You don't even own your own dojo?"

"Sure I own it! We just rent an apartment! What do you take me for?" Akane looked puzzled

"Is it attached to the dojo?"

"No, it's in the apartment building up the street."

"Humm. I'll just stay there then." Riley's eyes looked like they were about to fall out.

"You're going to stay at the apartment with us?!"

"Why not?"

"I-I don't know, it just seems kinda strange, that's all."

"Well, I'm not going to waste Nabiki's money at a hotel." Ranma looked like he was going to choke and die.

"N-Nab-b-iki is with you?!"

"No, she just gave me a budget, that's all. And a hotel doesn't quite figure in."

Ranma was visibly relieved.


	2. Wanted: A solution to a problem

2-Wanted: solution to a problem

A week passed, and Akane seemed to have no intention of leaving. In fact, she was planning more and more on staying. She had been sleeping on Ranma's bed (He had been sleeping on the couch) and had sent home a letter proclaiming the situation and got an encouraging letter and a check back from her sisters.

One day, Riley burst into the apartment waving a piece of paper. "Hey guys, look at this!" Akane, who had been sitting on the couch watching American TV jumped up and ran to the door while Ranma ran from the bathroom (he had just finished brushing his teeth).

"What is it?!"

"Our problems are solved!"

Both dove for the paper and ended up sitting on the floor. Finally, they all leaned in to examine it.

It was a wanted ad that the apartment building gave to its residents to put around the building if they only wanted to cater to the other people in the building. It said:

**WANTED-**

I am looking for a nice young female roommate to share my two bedroom apartment and pay her share of the bills. I am a writer and so I work from home. I was advertising in the building because I would like her to come highly recommended by someone who lives here. If you or you know someone who is interested, please give me a call and we'll set up a time to meet.

Thanks everybody,

Stephanie Gress,

**Apt. #** 143

**Tel.** (645) 983-4536

"Now, isn't that just perfect for you, Akane?" Riley looked hopeful.

"Hmmm. Do you know this girl?" she inquired of her hosts. Ranma nodded.

"Yeah. She lives two doors down. We see her every now and then. She seems nice enough." Riley had gotten starry eyed and blushed a little.

"Yeah, I know her too… well… sort of… well… we've met… I mean…" Ranma leaned over to whisper in her ear.

"Crush alert!"

Akane giggled at the image that suddenly popped into her head. It was a Dr. Tofu and Kasumi situation (before they got married…like in the canon) with Riley acting like Dr. Tofu and this Stephanie person acting like Kasumi. It was very funny. She giggled all the more as Ranma attempted to stop Riley as he babbled and snap Akane out of her giggle fest. "Aw, forget you guys," he waved them off and sat back to wait for them to finish.

When Riley finally stopped rambling, they all agreed that Akane should check it out.

"Ok, Akane, so you wanna call her now?" Akane walked timidly over to the phone.

"Hello? Stephanie Gress? ...Yes, this is Akane Tendo. I'm interested in the room to let. … Yes, I have two references that live in the building… Ranma Saotome and Riley Thomas… tomorrow afternoon, you say? See you then!" She hung up the phone and looked at the two boys.

"Tomorrow at 2:00, with my references, of course."

"Let's just hope this works out." Ranma sighed.


	3. Enter Steph

3-Enter Steph

The three protagonists (so far) were standing outside of apartment number 143, Ranma's hand prepared to knock, Riley sweating nervously and Akane looking perturbed if not nervous. The knuckles and wood connected and four raps later, the door swung open to reveal a young woman in her early twenties. "Hi! How can I help you?" she blithely asked the people on the other side of the door. Ranma looked at his companions and decided to be the spokesman, sorta speak.

"Hi. I'm Akane Tendo. Are you Stephanie Gress? We have an appointment to look at the room. I've brought my references." She gestured toward the boys with a smile.

"Oh! Of course! You called yesterday afternoon! Come in!"

Soon they all were sitting around the living room with glasses of ice water (guys, don't forget where we are…CA). It was a sort of interview, but more of a pleasant conversation with a few questions directed Akane's way.

"Where do you work, Akane?" The interrogated nodded toward Ranma.

"I work as cashier at the '7-11' and I teach at his school." Stephanie looked a bit surprised at Ranma.

"Oh? What sort of school have you got?"

"Martial Arts." She turned back to her interviewee.

"You're a martial artist?"

"Yes."

"That's so cool! I mean, I know that there are people like that, but to actually meet them? That's incredible! What style?"

"Musbettsu Kaktou"

"Can't say that I've heard of it."

"Not many people have…" Akane gave the girl a friendly smile.

"May I ask where you live now?"

"I'm staying at the dojo." Her tone implied 'Duh!' at the end of her sentence as if it were blatantly obvious. Steph just nodded and stood up. The others followed suit.

"I see. So you're kinda hard up for a place, huh? Well, I'll call you back in a couple of days. See you're the fifth person I've interviewed so far." Akane looked slightly confused and then understanding dawned.

"Ok." She smiled "I will wait for your call." She smiled at the American girl and was almost to the door when Steph snapped her fingers as if she were remembering something.

"Oh! Were can I reach you?" Akane turned to Ranma with a questioning look. He immediately snapped into action.

"Uh, right. Here. You can reach her at this number." He wrote down his apartment's phone number on a little piece of paper that appeared from nowhere and whipped out a pencil from the same place.

As he wrote, Steph leaned a little towards Akane and said in a strange whisper behind her hand "Just between you and me," she whispered, "I'm thinking that you're hired. The most pleasant so far." The girls smiled at each other before Akane passed out of the door. Ranma straightened up and handed her the paper.

"Here ya go." The pencil disappeared from sight and he too passed through the door. Riley started inching out, trying to remain inconspicuous, but Stephanie caught his eye and grinned. The young man blushed badly and quickly edged out the door. He finally got out and started striding down the hall past Ranma and Akane. The remaining threesome in the hall all sniggered.

"He's so cute!" Stephanie giggled to the other two. "He's been like that ever since he moved in five years ago!" She solemnly nodded her head at the amazement on Akane's face. "Yep." Riley was most of the way back to the apartment now and the other two joined him quickly after saying a quick "goodbye" to their neighbor. Then as Riley was almost inside the door, she called after him

"Goodbye Riley!" and waved. Akane poked the red boy.

"Aren't you going to respond?" He shook his head deftly and tried to get in, but soon had to relent to Akane's probing. He waved quickly and mumbled "'bye" before pushing his way into the apartment. Akane was the last one to enter and gave Stephanie a thumbs-up with a grin before disappearing inside.


	4. That which follows

4: That which follows

"Okay boys, haul it on over." It was the day Akane was moving into Stephanie's apartment and all her stuff was packed.

Ranma came out of his room with a stack of boxes that reached nearly the ceiling and Riley followed him with two huge suitcases.

"Akane, when did you get so much stuff?" Ranma's muffled voice asked. She shrugged.

"Un. It just collected, I guess."

"Didn't you come with only a traveling pack?" Riley wanted to know as he dragged his burden down hall. He eyed Ranma's stack warily. "You sure you got all that, man?"

"I'm su…" Then the top box got caught while trying to go through the doorframe. It came crashing down and landed at Akane's feet.

"Watch it, you klutz!" she screamed as she darted out of the way of the heavy box.

All she was carrying was her purse and a little handbag.

"What have you got in here?"

"Normal stuff, you know. Weights, books, hammers…"

"Great."

_Some hours later_

"Well, Steph, that's finally finished!" Akane and Stephanie sat down on the bed and surveyed their work in the little bedroom. The room was pretty with its yellow bedspread ("just like the one at home."), all the clothes hung up. The only thing was the bare walls.

"We'll have to go and get some pictures, and then it'll be perfect!"

"There's one last thing." Akane got up and opened a mailing envelope. She took something out and went to the door. She hung a little duck with Japanese written on it on the door with a thumbtack.

"What's that say?"

"That's my name. Akane. My sister Kasumi sent it to me last week when I wrote to her about staying here. It used to be on my door at home."

"Oh. Well, now that we're finished, shall we get the boys and go celebrate?"

"Let's go!" They ran around to get ready and then grabbed the boys on their way out the door and to a restaurant.


	5. We like parcels! …Don’t we?

5: We like parcels! …Don't we?

The buzzer for the apartment rang at about 4:30pm. Stephanie sighed and slowly got up from her desk and went to the little speaker box connecting the apartment to the outside world. "Yes?"

"Delivery, Ma'am. Fur Miss 'Kane Ten-do."

"I'll be right down." Steph sighed again as she found her slippers and hurried down from the third floor apartment to the front door. As soon as she got there, she saw the UPS delivery boy standing with a box and a clipboard.

"Are you Miss Ten-do?" He proclaimed when she opened the door.

"No, I'm her room mate. She's not home right now. Is that all right?" The boy shrugged.

"Whatever. Sign here."

When the transaction was done, she picked up the box and carried it up the three flights of stairs (she didn't believe in apartment building elevators. When she and Akane had groceries or large boxes, they enlisted the boys to be the elevators. They usually grumbled but did it anyway) and in the door, dropping it on the couch. She then proceeded to examine the box.

She was very curious to know why her foreign roommate had received a package. It was not very large or heavy, and would be a very common box if it weren't for the return address. This said that it was from Japan.

Upon further inspection, she saw that it was addressed in Japanese characters and she recognized the "letters" that made up her friend's name. The paper attached to the box by UPS was in English. It was plainly addressed to "Akane Tendo, 507 Whipple Ave, Apt. #143, San Francisco, CA USA 94065" From "Kasumi Tendo, Tendo Dojo, N 23 Kigurma st. Nerima, Japan" The contents was listed as family notions and was also labeled 'fragile'.

Steph finally shrugged and returned to her dumb terminal where her book was opened up. She tried to write, but she was extremely curious about the box and kept looking at the clock. Akane's class would be over in another 15 min and then she might go out. Steph finally couldn't stand it any more and went for a walk down the street to the dojo to see if she could catch her and make her go home instead of going out with Ranma afterwards (Akane never actually admitted to it, but Steph was pretty sure. She may not completely understand the situation with them, but she didn't really think that they had only as employer/employee. They'd had never said the contrary, but it was kinda implied.)

When she got there, she only had to wait a few minutes with the other parents until Akane's class got out (She teaches the children's basic class- everything about the styles didn't branch off until later, and Akane's basics were the same.).

Steph took the opportunity to observe the waiting people. There were mostly mothers, though a few dads were there as well. A couple of the moms were talking to each other, but most were reading novels or magazines.

Riley taught adult beginners and Ranma taught the rest, for now. Riley was also the office secretary, a job that Steph did one day a week, usually when she wanted to get away from her writing. That was a plus of your best friends also being your employer. She could up call Riley or Ranma, and say "hey, can I work today?" They usually let her.

It was Friday afternoon, and the clock just chimed 5 pm. The door to the dojo promptly opened and the children started flowing out, with Akane coming out last, after straightening up mats and the like. Before Steph could pounce, one little boy pulled his father over to meet her. Being polite and waiting, she was getting irritated. 'Will she ever stop talking? I guess it's her job, but…' Finally those people were done and she could pounce on her friend.

_Flashback_

Andy ran out of the classroom and to his father waiting in the chairs. "Daddy! I'm so glad that you came to pick me up instead of Martha! Now you can meet my teacher." He grabbed his father's hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Well, let's go meet your new teacher then."

Akane was just coming out of the classroom, when a boy named Andy from her class came up to her, pulling a man by the hand, presumably his father. She was glad to finally meet him. He usually was picked up by his cousin. According to Martha, his mother had died when he was little, and his father was left to raise him with her to help him. The girls were about the same age and had become friends of sorts.

"Miss Tendo! This is my Daddy!" She smiled at the little boy and then nodded her head in a mini bow to the man.

"Hello Mr. Green. I am Andy's teacher, Akane Tendo."

"Pleased to meet you!" the man smiled back. "Andy raves about you at home all the time."

She blushed slightly "How flattering! Well, he seems to talk about you a lot also. He is a very good student, by the way."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that he's behaving himself. It's been kinda hard to relate to him." Akane nodded.

"I understand. I told Andy and Martha, but I don't know if he told you that my mother also passed away when I was little?"

"Yeah, he mentioned that."

"I was fortunate enough to have to older sisters and a father to love me though. I think that probably helped a lot. I'm sure it's tough raising him by yourself." Mr. Green sighed.

"Yeah, it's pretty hard sometimes, but we pull though." He smiled and chuckled a little. In attempt to change the subject, Andy spoke up.

"Daddy, isn't she pretty? I told you she was." He exclaimed proudly. As if on cue, they both blushed. Mr. Green turned to Akane.

"Please forgive him, saying such things. It is one of the things we're trying to break him from…" Akane's smile reappeared as she shook her head.

"No really, it's alright. It's very flattering."

"Well, uh, Andy, we'd better go now," he took the little boy by the shoulder and started directing him towards the door. He turned his head after a few steps "It was nice meeting you, Miss Tendo."

"It was nice meeting you too, Mr. Green." Andy turned around and waved.

"BYE MISS TENDO!"

"Bye Andy."

_Back to Steph_

Finally, all those people were gone and Steph was free to hurry over to her friend. "Akane!" The said girl turned around swiftly.

"Oh, Steph! You gave me a fright!"

"I _gave you a fright?_ Anyway," all of her previous excitement returned "I came to tell you that you got a box! A really big one! You have _got _to open soon! I'm dieing of curiosity!" Akane looked almost surprised.

"A package? From whom?"

"Catch this…" Dramatic pause "…Japan!"

"Oooh." Akane slumped against the wall. "A-are you s-sure?"

Steph couldn't understand her sudden anxiety "Of course! It had Japanese writing on it."

"Oh."

"You don't seem too excited." Steph put her hands mockingly on her hips.

"You wouldn't be either if you just had the premonition that I did." She whispered.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Never mind. Let's get the boys then and go open it."


	6. A picture is worth a thousand words

6: A picture is worth a thousand words

_10 minutes later, in apartment #143_

Akane sat on the couch with the box on her lap. She had a steak knife in her hand, ready to open the package. Tension and excitement were thick in the air. "Maybe you should just open it without him." She gave out a long sigh and aimed the knife at the tape, ready to cut, when there was a knock on the window. Steph shrieked and jumped, Akane looked up sharply and Riley took the knife from her. Ranma was outside, hanging upside down from the roof. Akane calmly opened the window and he climbed in.

"Finally! We were about to start without you!" She turned and headed back to the couch. Steph blinked at him.

"You came through the window!" Ranma shrugged.

"It's faster. Can't wait to see what Ka—your sister sent!" He settled on the couch and Akane took up the knife again. Steph was to her left and Ranma to her right. Riley was on the other side of Steph. "Come on, 'Kane, just open it!" Finally, she resolutely cut the tape and peeled back the sides of the box.

All leaned in eagerly to catch a glimpse of the unknown contents of the package.

First, there was a letter, in a separate envelope. Akane picked it up with trembling fingers. It was in Kasumi's neat hand, and went on for three pages. Instead of boring everyone with the letter (not that they would find it boring…in fact it was quite an interesting epistle…), she silently put it aside for a moment, only reading out loud and translating the one line that had caught her eye.

"…In this box I have sent a few photos that I was asked to send by some of your friends,"

Akane and Ranma shared a glace that, fortunately, their friends didn't catch.

"And also some photo albums from the past few years. Since you are in America, Nabiki and Auntie Nodoka and I decided that you needed some things that remind you of home, especially since we don't know when you will come back…"

There Akane stopped reading and put the letter aside.

"Pictures!" Steph exclaimed. "I love pictures! Akane, you have to tell us about everyone in them and how they are related to you!"

"Um, Ok" Akane looked a little nervous. Then the American girl got a thoughtful look on her face.

"Hey…why were you dreading this when I told you about it…and why are you nervous about it now?"

"I really don't know." Then Steph turned to Ranma, who was also looking a bit nervous.

"And what's your problem?" he quickly changed his expression and shrugged. They turned back to the box.

Akane carefully peeled away the first layer of foam paper (meant to keep it from breaking.) it was apparent that the box had been prepared with much care. Again everyone leaned in close as the paper lifted, revealing a picture in a frame. The two Americans examined the picture and didn't get much out of it. Ranma saw it and drew back and Akane saw it and smiled.

"Commentary, please" Steph joked in the solemn moment (though why it was solemn, no one could really say, it just seemed that way.).

The person Akane pointed to first in the picture was a tall man with long black hair, in a brown gi and his arms behind his back.

"This is my father, Soun Tendo. Master Of Tendo School Of Anything Goes Martial Arts."

"Wow! That's quite a title."

"Oh! That's your dad? He looks so nice!" Came the comments from the peanut gallery (That is, Riley and Steph).

The next person she pointed to stood next to her father and was a young woman with short brown hair, brown eyes and a very business like face with just a little bit of mischief in it. Her suit matched her face (that is, very business-like).

"Second Eldest sister Nabiki." That name sounded a little familiar to Riley and he looked over at his friend to see a large sweat drop appear on his head. He wondered why.

Her finger then slid to a very pretty woman with her brown hair tied with a ribbon in a ponytail over her shoulder. She was wearing a pretty floral dress and a frilly white apron. She looked very sweet and…domestic. She held a little child by the hand. She was smiling so sweetly that even in picture, you felt comforted. "This is Eldest sister Kasumi. She's the one who sent the box, and this is her little boy Yuta. Her husband is probably the one taking the photo." Ranma looked like he was about to fall over.

"Saotome, you ok?" He quickly straightened and nodded. He then whispered to Akane in Japanese.

"-I didn't know that she had a baby!-" Akane's voice got all soft and sad.

"-You were already gone, weren't you.-?"

"-Yeah. I guess I was. I guess I missed out on a lot.-" He grimaced.

"Hey, guys, do you think that you could wake up? We're still really curious to see the whole box!"

Indeed the two had seen to slip away for a moment. "Right," Akane pointed behind the people. "They are standing in front of my childhood home, outside the gates. This sign indicates that it is a dojo."

"That is quite a house! You can't even see it behind that wall!" Akane smiled at the peanut gallery's comment.

"It is quite a house…" She set the picture down on the floor at her feet, and peeled away the next layer of foam.

This picture showed another smiling Kasumi and Yuta standing next to a tall man with brown hair and glasses and in front of a whitewashed building with signs on it. "This is Dr. Tofu, my sister's husband. He is also the family doctor. They are standing in front of his clinic." Ranma, impulsive as he is, displayed his remarkable talent of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"Are they still living above the clinic?" three pairs of eyes looked at him. One of which was horrifying and the other two were puzzled. "…because, people often tend to live over their business for a while before they move to a regular house." The horrifying set calmed and then the owner resumed her commentary.

"They do live above it. HOW could you guess?"

"It just kinda seemed logical…"

"Oh." She put down this photo in its frame to join the other.

The next framed picture was of an older couple. At the sight of this picture, Ranma quickly excused himself and ran to the bathroom.

"What's up with him?"

"Who knows? This," she pointed to the man wearing a white gi and a white cloth over his head "is Uncle Saotome. He is my father's best friend. They trained together when they were young. He is the master of his own version of Anything Goes.

"Hey! Same name as Ranma!"

"Well, it could be a coincidence."

"True" But neither members of the gallery believed it.

"And this…" she pointed to the woman. She was pretty and looked younger than her age. She was wearing a traditional kimono and had a nice, motherly face. "…is Auntie Nodoka. She is like a second mother to me." Steph pointed to her.

"She looks very nice. Are they really your aunt and uncle?"

"Oh no!" Akane laughed. "We just call them that because they are very close."

"I get it."

Ranma came back into the room slowly and sat down in his previous spot. Riley immediately attacked him.

"What happened to you?" He asked his slightly green friend.

"I just felt a little sick there for a moment, that's all. Hahaha" he laughed nervously. Akane eyed him and put the picture down again. How long would it be before their friend's suspicions were confirmed and their secret out? It was only a matter of time. She slowly pulled away another piece of insulation to reveal yet another framed picture.

This one produced a short gasp from the -two –who- weren't- supposed -to –have- been-more- than- distant-acquaintances. "Ucchan…"

It showed two people, a boy dressed as a ninja in all black and a girl wearing black stretch pants with a purple top and a bandolier across her shoulders. Over one shoulder peeked some metal. The girl had long brown hair and held a spatula in her hand. They were standing in front of what looked like a restaurant and had funny writing on the sign.

When the two Americans saw Ranma's reaction to first the old couple and now his reaction to this picture, they felt that something odd was going on and they wanted to figure it out.

Riley spoke up first. He asked softly. "Someone you know, Ranma?" The young man was caught off guard.

"Uh, sort of. She's the owner of a restaurant…in Nerima" Steph then got indignant.

"You two had better tell us what's up with you two, 'cause something is fishy. It is obvious that Ranma knows these people quite well that came in a box for Akane from her sister. You say that you are both from Tokyo, but I think that you two knew each other _before _you came here. And very well, too. Am I right?" Ranma looked like he was either about to spill his guts or start denying (his other specialty) when Akane spoke up.

"I guess we can tell you now…" Ranma's eyes got huge.


	7. Well, the cat is out of the bag now…

7: Well, the cat is out of the bag now…

"…we went to the same high school." She stated rather calmly.

"I knew it! I knew it had to be something like that! Same city my eyeball! You two went to high school together and never said a word about it to us?! Why not?" Steph jumped up in excitement until Riley pulled her down.

"We didn't feel it necessary to talk about. I mean, I have no idea where you went to high school!"

"Well, I didn't go to high school with Riley or anything!"

"Uh, hate to tell you this, but, you did." Steph stared at him.

"I did?" Riley nodded. Steph was boggled.

"Huh. Imagine that."

But Steph wasn't angry for long. No, she was curious. "So," she settled down and got comfortable. "Of course you knew each other, and the same crowd, otherwise, Ranma wouldn't know these people. You even grew up in the same place!"

"Not really, Ranma only moved to Nerima when he was 16."

"You guys were friends, weren't you?"

Akane blushed. "Kind of…"

"Oooohhhh. Did you guys go out?" Now they both blushed and Steph knew that she had hit right on the money.

"For a while…"

"I'll bet your parents liked that, huh? You both dating martial artists and all?" Then Ranma spoke up.

"Well, yeah. I mean, they set it up! They were best friends, ya know."

It was Riley's turn to speak as Akane glared at the Japanese boy. "Oh! Are you're parents the Mr. And Mrs. Saotome in that other picture?"

"Yeah."

"What happened earlier, when we were looking at that picture and you got sick?"

"Uh…" Ranma sweat dropped. "Well, ya see… Those people and I…" Akane interrupted him

"Ranma had a…falling out with his parents." Ranma nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that's it.

"So you ran away from home?"

Ranma blinked at Riley's accuracy. "…Sssorta." He suddenly found the walls very interesting.

"Hmmm." Steph the Busybody broke in. "What sort of falling out?" she quickly noted that Akane suddenly found her hands as interesting as Ranma found the walls. "Well?"

"Um, a little thing that caused me to leave and well… um, get myself disowned."

"Disowned!?! How's that?"

"…Well, maybe not disowned… but certainly out of favor. " Steph looked frustrated

"Trying to get a story out of you is like pulling teeth! Akane, tell me. I'm sure that you know…don't you?"

At her words, Akane and looked up sharply and looked like a trapped rabbit. "Well, it is partially my fault… see, our fathers decided that we should get married. In fact, we were introduced to each other at 16 years as being engaged… our fathers, who were best friends, wanted to unite the two schools. Ranma even lived with us until he left. His own parents stayed in our dojo for a little while too."

You could have heard a pin drop.

Many pins.

And still more pins could have dropped to the ground.

Heck, even the dust settling could be heard.

Then the silence was broken.


	8. Say what?

8: Say what?

"ENGAGED!?! YOU TWO WERE ENGAGED?!?"

"Um …yes?"

"AHHHH! WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SOMETHING!??!?!"

"Well, I left my past, I certainly didn't want to bring it up here!" Ranma protested loudly to his new friends. Besides, it didn't come up."

"We didn't think that it was an important detail, and we wanted to be separate people, not a couple. Besides, that was a long time ago. We're not engaged anymore!" Akane defended herself.

"So Akane, why did you come here?" Riley was taking all this rather well, for some reason…

"Well, originally, my family sent me to bring Ranma back…"

"After three years of him being gone?"

"They had to find him first…then I got here and he refused to leave… and I promised to come visit him…"

Something hit Riley on the head and prompted him to ask the next question. "Is that what that argument you guys had that first day was about?" Akane blushed.

"Yes. You see, we consider the engagement as off, but our parents are set on us getting married and then we decided that we didn't really want to."

"Ranma, why did you run away in the first place?" Riley inquired of his friend. "It wasn't just for an adventure, was it?"

"No. That was kinda part of it, but the real reason was that Akane and I had a major… misunderstanding. We didn't really want to break up, but I wanted to leave, and she didn't."

"Father wouldn't let me."

"I had to move away to a different country… so I came here. Doing that is what had me fall out of favor with my family. Apparently, though, they say that if I go back and marry Akane, all will be forgiven. Disownment wouldn't be good for them either. There would be no heir. And if Akane stayed here, two schools would die out."

"…" was the peanut gallery's response.

They sat in more silence for a while before Riley broke it again. "Wow. You guys have quite a history, don't you?"

Ranma shook his head. "You have no idea."

Steph wriggled in her seat to get more comfortable and tapped Akane on the arm. "Hey, Akane, can we finish looking at the box now?" She leaned over her friend to look at Ranma. "And why don't you help with the commentary?" Akane seemed to perk up and picked up the picture that had led to the unfolding of their tale from where she had placed it in the box.

"This is a picture of Ranma's friend Ukyo Kuonji." She pointed to the girl wearing the purple. "And her employee, Konatsu."

"Ucchan was my best friend. We met when we were six. I thought that she was a boy and then she showed up in Nerima and opened this restaurant. Konatsu is a ninja that works for her serving tables." Riley let out a guffaw.

"(Snigger) why, couldn't he find a job in some lord's house"

"Well, he could have, but I think that he prefers to work at Ucchan's." said Ranma in all seriousness.

"Oh." Riley seemed baffled.

Ucchan joined the others on the floor and the next picture was unveiled. This picture was so cute that the girls had to comment on it. "Oh! Kawaii!" They said in unison (Steph had picked up on some of Akane's words and used them every so often when she felt them appropriate.) The boys just smirked at each other.

The picture was of a young man and a girl standing under an umbrella that the boy was holding. It was red and Chinese style. They were just walking down the street and looked slightly embarrassed at the camera. The photographer had probably caught them off guard. The boy was on the right to the viewer and held the umbrella in his right hand. His left hand was behind his head and he was looking down, his face a beautiful red color. But he was still grinning, showing his canine teeth that looked like fangs off quite well. He had black hair that was held back from his face with a yellow and black bandanna. His yellow tunic and green pants were accompanied by a thin black belt and shoes that looked like roman sandals that laced up almost to his knees. The girl was very cute and was wearing a simple but pretty dress with her long black hair free over her shoulders. She was holding onto the arm holding the umbrella and was also looking down and blushing. All this was taken in a matter of seconds.

Akane pointed to the boy "This is Ranma's friend Ryoga Hibiki with his fiancée Akari Unryū."

"He's not really my friend…"

"Yes he is, Ranma!"

"Um, May I ask why all of your friends are either married or engaged?" Steph asked curiously.

"It is Japan after all. Plus it is Nerima…" Akane sighed

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything."

"Well, they sure are cute!" Steph grinned, pointing at the couple under the umbrella. Akane nodded.

"Aren't they? Nabiki probably just darted in front of them and snapped the picture, hoping to get a "genuine" pose. They saw her and were instantly embarrassed."

"Why are they embarrassed?"

"That's the type of people that they are."

More pictures followed. There was one of a purple haired Chinese woman, a boy wearing funny robes and an old woman on a staff in front of yet another restaurant, which Akane claimed was a Chinese restaurant in Nerima, also friends of theirs. "Shampoo, Mousse, and Cologne."

"What's with the bath products for names?"

"It's really just how their pronounced. That's not what their names really are." Akane said with a smile.

There was an old picture of a smiling woman sitting in a formal way wearing a kimono.

"My mother" Akane sighed.

"She died." Ranma whispered to their friends.

There was a crazy picture of the Tatewaki Clan with their little servant. "This is a strange boy who was-" Ranma started to explain before being cut off by Akane.

"He still is." Ranma eyed her .

"-in love with her in high school. This is his sister,… _Kodachi_." When he said the last name, he shuddered slightly. "Ah, sorry, bad memories. Moving on…"

There was a group picture of six young people, in front of a school building. They all looked happy.

"Some of my classmates from Furinkan High School on graduation day. Sayuri, Yuka, Hiroshi, Daisuke. And me and Ranma."

The two Americans looked closer at the picture.

"That was you guys in high school?"

"Yep!"

"Wow."

The last picture in the box was a strange picture that had the peanut gallery shocked and horrified. They wanted to call the police or something, until they were reassured by their friends. In the picture was a tall red column of something. It looked like a bomb, or a column of electricity. At the center was an absent Ryoga.

"Oh, don't worry, that's just Ryoga's "Shi-shi-ho-ko-dan" Great photo, isn't it? Nabiki got a good one that time. "

"Wahwahwahwawah?"

"Nah, he never actually hurts anyone."

"Wah." (the point here folks is that they're speechless.)

"Is that the same boy as before, with the girl?" (After a moment's recovery)

"Yes, this is one of his more depressed moments. Strange though, why he's so depressed here. Lately he's been so happy, with Akari, I mean."

"Maybe he thinks he's lost."

"Maybe Nabiki paid him big bucks to shoot one off."

"Not likely."

"Yeah, you're right. She'd probably charge him."

Their friends were confused.

when Ryoga shoots off the Shi-shi-ho-ko-dan, he releases the energy, but it doesn't hurt him because he becomes 'absent' and the energy sheds off him like water.


	9. Hey Akane, What's up?

Disclaimer: this not owning thing extends to all the chapters. I know I said it at the beginning, but I still don't claim anything!

9: Hey, Akane, what's up?

After the last picture had been viewed (the albums were "saved for another day" as Akane so delicately put it. In reality, she wanted to preview some of the pictures to not let _all_ of the cats out of her proverbial bag) and the boys had left (after committing themselves to hanging up all the pictures in Akane's still empty-walled bedroom) and Steph was in her room with sudden inspiration, Akane pulled out the last picture in the box.

It had been between the Tendo's and the clinic. She had seen a glimpse and decided not to show this one. Finally she pulled it out of the stack and sat down on the couch and studied the picture. As she looked at it, a tear slowly slid down her face and she hugged the picture to herself and sat there, rocking back and forth slightly, with tears running full throttle down her face with her eyes squeeze tightly shut.

Sooo……

What is the pic of!!!!!!?!?!?!?!?!!??!?! Don't you wish you knew!!!!! Up next: The Mystery unfolds s'more!!! Part two of "Time keeps on ticking into the future"

AN I'm really sorry it's so short, but the next chapter is completely different! this one was really just a little ending to part one.


	10. The Hidden Picture

Part Two:

1: The hidden picture

Steph came back in the room. "Now, where did I put that thing…" Then she saw her friend, and rushed over. "Akane," she whispered, "what's wrong?" Akane's eyes opened, startled at the sight of Stephanie. Akane swallowed audibly.

"I… think… I… need… a… nap." She said as she got up and ran out of the room to her bedroom, dropping something as she got up.

"That was weird… what's this?" Steph picked up the frame. "Oh, its one of the pictures Akane got…huh? We didn't see this one. It's nice though. Hmmm. This could be a lead…" She studied the picture. It was a picture of a younger Ranma sitting on the floor of a room, with a younger Akane sitting on his lap, her arms around his neck, smiling. It was obviously a picture taken without permission, because it wasn't posed at all, it was capturing a moment between the two. But why had Akane been sobbing? Of course this picture was from when the two had been dating, no doubt. But, then they never said why they had broken up. "And now she's here… Hmmm." Making a decision, Steph got up and marched to Akane's door.

Knock knock "Akane? Can I come in?" there was no answer, so Steph tried the door. It was unlocked, and she pushed the door open. "Akane?" The said girl was face down on her bed, but not making a sound. Then she turned over and showed her tear stained face to her friend. "Akane, what's the matter?" She sat down on the bed next to her. "Does it have something to do with this?" She laid the picture down next to her. Akane stared at it and then slowly nodded. "Akane, what happened with you two?" Akane sighed and prepared herself for her speech. "Well, you see, everything was going on as usual, with no one very happy. But, we finished school and it was the summer before collage, when there was a huge fight over everyone going away and everything when…

_Tendo Dojo, Nerima, Tokyo, Japan 1990_

"_AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" the yell rang out around the city. "JUST STOP IT!!! ALL OF YOU! I'M GOING INSANE AROUND HERE!" Chaos surrounded him and he sprinted up the stairs to his room, leaving a shocked group of people. They were shocked because he seemed like he meant it. He never really did, in their minds, before. Now he seemed to really have had enough._

"_He'll cool down and be alright tomorrow." One of them said, with confirmation._

"_I guess we should probably leave him alone for the rest of the night, huh?"_

_As she was going to bed, Akane passed by Ranma's room. The door was partially open._

"_Akane. Come in here a minute." So, she went._

_The next morning, Kasumi sent Akane in to wake up Ranma. Kasumi was right behind her when she didn't hear anything. She was shocked. Ranma's futon was neatly folded and his pillow placed on top. All of his things were gone as well. "Don't worry; I'm sure he'll be back. He probably just went on a training trip." Kasumi assured her sister._

"_I don't think so." His parting words hadn't left much hope for his return_. Come visit me. Goodbye, Akane._ "Nope. Not sure at all."_

Steph looked incredulous. "You have got to be kidding me." Akane shook her head slowly.

"I don't blame him for doing that at all. In fact, I'm kinda surprised that he didn't do it before. They were sure all crazy."

"So, all those people in those pictures…"

"Were his 'fiancées'"

"Uhgg"

"Yeah"

"So, why were you crying?"

"That picture was taken just before it happened. They all came that evening. That's all."

"I think that you two should get back together, I mean, after all, ya both still like each other a lot."

Akane blushed "What in the world would make you think that?!?"

"Oh, you know…_everything_"

"..."

"So, do you want to hang this one too?"

"Sure. "

"Great. Are you all better now?"

"I think so."

"Great! Let's go out to lunch or something."

Akane smiled and nodded. "Okay. Let me grab my purse."

AN From now on the story gets really very episodic. Things will remain consistent, but the next few will not necessarily be in chronological order. I know it sounds confusing, but you'll see! The next episode is almost finished, just a few little things to tie up. Coming up soon…surprises!


	11. Change? What Change?

a/n sorry for such a long wait guys! My darling brother gave me my old hard drive on a disk for my birthday so I got all my work back! I was so happy! Here's the next chapter that will soon be followed up upon, hopefully by the end of the week. Also, If you've been reading "A different story" The next chapter should be up soon too. Enjoy! Please review my story when you've finished! I love feedback.

2: Change? What change?

"Ranma!" Akane, furious, sprayed the said boy with water from the sink she stood at, reverting to old habits.

Steph was at her desk, when she heard a scream. She jumped out of her seat and ran into the kitchen, where the sound had come from. Something must have happened and Riley was out.

Upon entering, they found a paralyzed Akane staring at Ranma, who had an indescribable expression on her face, somewhere between horror, annoyance and speechlessness.

In addition, he was dripping wet. "What? What!" the two others cried. Akane raised a shaky arm and pointed at the other foreign kid.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-ou…y-you d-d-i-d-n't…" Frowning, she sprayed him again with the hose. Nothing happened. After an eternity, Ranma finally snapped into action. He ran to her side and supported her.

"Akane, are you ok?" Steph spoke up. "Well, let's put her on the couch before she faints." She stepped forward to help drag the semi-conscious girl to the couch, but to her surprise, Ranma scooped her up while agreeing with Steph. "What got into her?" Steph wondered when she was safely on the couch, passed out. In a matter of seconds, Akane's eyes opened.

"Ranma… what happened…?"

"You fainted" he replied promptly.

"What happened, Akane?" Steph inquired. Akane looked back at Ranma. She sat up and then promptly fell back again.

"Explain it to me, Ranma. Why didn't you change? Are you cured?!" In a moment of abandon, a smile broke out on her face. The American looked confused. This was happening a lot since these people had shown up, and both Steph and Riley were getting used to it. She only wished he were there to be confused with her. Ranma tried to cover up.

"What are you talking about Akane?" he sweat-dropped.

She ran on. "Your curse. Have you cured it?"

"Sure I have, Akane. I'm all better now. Now why don't you sleep?" he said in a patronizing voice, glancing at their friend. She took him up on the suggestion. When she did, his friend turned to him. "What was that all about?" He shrugged.

"She must have been in delirium or something."

"She said that you were cursed and now you're cured? What's that mean?"

"Like I know… well, I do, but anyway, yeah, I think I left the stove on at home! Bye!" He ran from the room. Steph sighed and mumbled to herself, "Now what's up with these people?"

Akane woke up to find Steph sitting in the armchair next to the sofa. "Are you feeling better, Akane?"

"Yeah, thanks. I was just so… shocked. I wonder when he got cured."

"You keep saying that, Akane. What do you mean, 'cured'? Is Ranma chronically ill or something?"

Akane stared. "You mean that he didn't tell you guys about the curse?" Steph raised her eyebrows.

"'Curse?' What kind of curse?"

"A Junsenkyo curse. You mean to tell me that he hasn't told you guys about it?" Riley walked into the room just as she said this.

"What are we talking about here?" Steph turned to him.

"Do you know about this curse and are just not telling me?"

"I don't think so… I mean, Ranma hasn't exactly told me all the details of his life, ya know. But I think I would know if he were 'cursed'" The look on his face seemed to imply the opposite though and Steph looked at him suspiciously.

"Really, he hasn't told you guys about changing into a girl?" Stephanie blinked.

"Did you just say 'change into a girl?'?"

"Where is that baka..." Akane got up and stalked from the room in search of him. Stephanie looked at the innocent countenance of the other boy in confusion.

"'Curse?'"


	12. Explanations All Around!

A/n: Hey guys! It was done and then I thought of a way to make it better, so sorry for all the excuses, but really, it is true! So here's a little continuation piece. Comments? Suggestions? Errors? Just plain liked it? Please let me know! On with the show…

* * *

_Last time on Time Keeps On Ticking:_

"A Junsenkyo curse. You mean to tell me that he hasn't told you guys about it?" Riley walked into the room just as she said this.

"What are we talking about here?" Steph turned to him.

"Do you know about this curse and are just not telling me?"

"I don't think so… I mean, Ranma hasn't exactly told me all the details of his life, ya know. But I think I would know if he were 'cursed'" The look on his face seemed to imply the opposite though and Steph looked at him suspiciously.

"Really, he hasn't told you guys about changing into a girl?" Stephanie blinked.

"Did you just say 'change into a girl?'?"

"Where is that baka..." Akane got up and stalked from the room in search of him. Stephanie looked at the innocent countenance of the other boy in confusion.

"'Curse?'"

* * *

**Chapter 3: Explanations all around!**

San Francisco was a big place. As she ran angrily though town, Akane's mind couldn't help but wander. Where could he have gone? He didn't really go back to his apartment and it seemed the only other logical place was the dojo. At least that's where he would have gone at home. Akane sat in the entranceway to the dojo to ponder his whereabouts. Home. A thought that hadn't crossed her mind in a while. Was she ever going to go home to her dad and sisters? Or would she permanently remain in America now? The night he left came back to her. She felt like finding him and kicking him into the pond just for that stunt. The curse! Why was she sitting here thinking? She had to go find him and make him tell her what happened to him. With renewed zeal, she swung her mallet onto her shoulder and set out again in search of her wayward idiot.

++++ 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

"Riley, sit down on this couch right now and tell me what's going on." the angry girl was going to get information out of him if it was the last thing she did. He resolutely sat down.

"Well, it's not really my story to tell. I guess I can tell you about how I met Ranma."

_Flashback_

_Riley walked through the park, more than a little depressed. He needed a roommate and a job. Very soon. Being a delivery boy was good and all, it just didn't pay enough to live in the San Fran. The city was foggy as ever and not very many people were at the park. He walked with his head down and so of course tripped over something. He heard a splash. "Watch it, will ya!" He looked up in surprise to see a very disgruntled, very wet redheaded girl climbing out of the lake that he had accidentally knocked her into. _

"_I'm sorry miss, it was an accident."_

Then one day I saw an ad in the newspaper for a desk worker at a dojo, so I applied. Then Ranma changed a few times after we became roommates, and he explained the whole thing to me, and asked me not to mention it, well I guess this doesn't really count as mentioning it…"

Stephanie sat in silence as he talked, disbelief written on her face. "Those two just get stranger and stranger. I swear, if they weren't already my friends, I would never talk to them. Well, Ranma at least. Wait. How did you go from a desk worker to a teacher?"

"Learned, how else? Ranma thought it might be good to have an assistant and since he didn't have any students that already graduated, he started teaching me. I mean, I took karate as a kid and stuff, so it wasn't completely foreign."

"Riley, that doesn't really make sense."

He looked sheepish. "I know."

* * *

Ahh. There he was. "RANMA!" The young man's eyes got big as he faced the wrath of his once fiancée. 

"Hi Akane."

Her mallet started to come down on his head to punctuate her next words. He beat her to it and caught before it hit him. "Akane. Come on."

"You owe me quite the explanation!"

"Akane, calm down, sit down and hear me out." She sat down next to him on the side of the lake with a huff.

"So you see, Akane, I went down there, to Jusenkyo, but I couldn't find it. It was as if it disappeared after the battle. After it flooded, I haven't heard any news. The guide moved and when I found him, all he could offer me was sympathy and an ancient herb.

_Flashback_

_Ranma sat in the little cottage with the Jusenkyo guide. He shook his head. "I'm sorry Mr. Ranma, but the springs are no more. The waters mixed, and their effect was lost. The ancient training grounds of Jusenkyo no longer exist." Ranma is of course rather upset. He jumped to his feet, angry. _

"_So now what are all the victims of your little 'training ground' going to do? Must they remain cursed forever? If people even knew they were dangerous before you let them come than no one would be in this position!" _

"_Calm down Mr. Ranma. I remember telling you not to train at deadly Jusenkyo training grounds, that you would regret it. Did I not? No, there is no need to place blame. Come here. This is something that will help you. I do not usually give it out, but I have come to know you and your friends greatly and want to do something for you. Into what springs did you and your friends fall? Let's see…little black pig… cat… panda… duck…girl." The man was digging through a drawer and came up with six bottles with old labels on them. He set them down on the table for Ranma to look at. _

"_What the heck are these, old man?"_

"_They are herb, Mr. Ranma. Local remedy for curse, dating back hundreds of years. Not many know about it. I have the last and the recipe has been forgotten."_

"_And you would give these to me?"_

"_For a price, of course."_

"_What are you saying now? What do you want?" a dangerous feeling settled in the room. The Chinese guide looked Ranma steadily in the eye and told him._

Akane sat next to Ranma on the grass facing Stow Lake in the park and looked at him incredulously. The said boy had freshly applied bandages and a look of complete sincerity on his face.

"So he gave it to you without a hitch?" Akane was surprised. "All he asked was to be taken out to dinner? That's crazy!" Ranma shrugged.

"I guess it wasn't really that important to him."

"He could have charged you a fortune!"

"But he didn't! So now you just eat the herb stuff and the curse goes away?"

"Well, it takes away the curse as long as I use it on a weekly basis. So it's not really cured, it's just being treated."

"So what happens when it runs out?"

"It'll come back. It has no cumulative affect, so I just don't take it on days when I'm not going out and stuff. I mean, eventually it'll run out, and since no one knows the recipe… but it won't run out for a very long time."

"So did you ever give the other ones away?"

"Well, the only ones I have left are Pops and…S-Shampoo's" 'Close one! I almost said Ryoga!'

"When are you going to give it to her?"

"I don't know. I'll probably mail it."

"Oh."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the lake and sun as it began to set on the horizon. With a sidelong glance, Ranma broke the silence with a quite question. "Akane? What do you think? Aren't you glad?"

"It's wonderful! It's just strange. I've never known you without it. I guess I kinda miss onna Ranma, but certainly not enough to want to you live with such a curse. You must be happy though, eh?"

"It's a relief to not have to deal with it." A grin crept into his voice "but we did have some good times, didn't we?" Akane smiled and hugged her knees and looked across the lake. He caught her smile in the waning light. "You're cute when you smile," He whispered under his breath. They watched the sun finish setting and the stars coming out, as many as you can see in the city.

"Why did you leave, anyway?" Ranma let out a sigh and looked at the darkened sky.

"I guess I got fed up. And I always like a little adventure."

"It was pretty crazy, wasn't it? How did we put up with it all that time?"

"I can't imagine the chaos I left behind me. Was it really bad?" He looked at her worriedly.

"Amazingly enough, after the rage attacks were over, everything really calmed down. Quite a few of them left. Like Ukyo and Shampoo. I'm surprised they didn't try to follow you."

"Well, hopefully it'll be a peaceful life from here on out." Ranma stood up and extended his hand to Akane. "Shall we go home?" To his slight amazement, she took his hand as she got up with a smile.

"Let's go home."

As they walked home in the dark of the early evening with the stars above them, everything seemed right in the world. "Akane?"

"Yes, Ranma?"

"You realize you looked like an idiot today, fainting and all, right? I mean, Steph must think you're crazy."

"RANMA!"

"Just Kidding!"

* * *

A/N: Sorry about Riley's explanation, it's kinda lame, but please don't hate me! I couldn't figure out another way for him to be a teacher at the Saotome School! I was going to have it alternating between couples, but I decided not to. Is continuation better, or should I just go on to the next episode and count this one as ongoing? Please give me your CONSTRUCTIVE (and you know who you are) input Hey, I've also been messing with those line things. For some reason, it doesn't keep my pretty decor... Up next... its a surprise!

Thanks guys, and Happy Halloween!


	13. Wonders Never Cease

4: Wonders never cease

"Blahblaa bl, blah blah blah blah?"

Steph looked at the young man who had just asked her the strange question in some foreign language.

"Excuse me?"

The boy seemed to make some kind of mental transition, because he then addressed her in English.

"Sorry. Could you tell me where I am?"

Steph blinked at him. Something about him looked familiar. Like she'd seem him in a dream or picture, but certainly not someone she knew.

"Uhh, Chinatown?"

"China?"

"No, China_town_." No recognition. "San Francisco?" Something snapped.

"Ah! America!"

"Yes, America" she shook her head and walked toward a shop, rather quickly hoping he wouldn't follow her. After all, this was a big city, and there were some weird people in Frisco.

Riley was locking up the building after class. Ranma and Akane had gone today to find some of Akane's relatives who lived in some suburb around the San Fran.

As he turned around, he was confronted by a young man who was staring at the sign above the door. He was mouthing the words, so it was obvious that he was an ESL. Immigrants.

The young Asian man soon shifted his gaze from the sign to Riley. "Are you master of this dojo?"

At least he could speak English.

Riley shook his head. No, I'm not, but I do work here. Can I help you find something?"

"What is the master's name?"

"Ranma Saotome."

An odd look came into the strange boy's eyes. Recognition? Then it changed to anger. "Take me to him!"

Riley stared at him.

"He's not here right now, he's away on business. He should be back tomorrow though. You could see him then, I suppose…are you interested in classes or something?"

"I must stay until Ranma returns…" The man looked angry. "…and when he does…he'll hear from me."

Riley stared at the young man. Something about him was strangely familiar. He sat down next to the door, dropping his backpack heavily on the ground.

"Maybe you should come back tomorrow." Riley suggested.

"I'll wait here for him."

"You can't stay in front of the school all night. Go home and come back tomorrow."

The young man on the ground looked up.

"I can't leave. I may never find him again."

"If you don't leave, I'm going to have to call the police."

The boy slowly got up and started walking away. He didn't want any trouble with the police in a foreign country. He was in enough trouble back home. Riley shook his head. San Francisco was so full of bums these days.

As he walked away, he heard the boy mumbling to himself in a foreign language. "-Now I've found you, Saotome. There's no escaping me anymore."

That evening, Akane was lounging on the couch, recovering from a day full of sitting nicely while relatives talked about people she didn't know and how much she'd grown since she was five. Steph was in the armchair with a cup of coffee. Akane had been taking about the aunts and cousins she'd seen that day.

"The funniest thing happened to me today. While I was in Chinatown."

"What's that?" Akane looked up from her magazine to glance at her friend.

"A boy asked me where he was." Akane was instantly concerned.

"Was he lost? Did you find his mother? Did you call the police?"

"Calm down, he wasn't that kind of a boy. A young man. Late teens. Early Twenties."

"Oh." Akane settled down on the couch again.

"The funny part was that he really didn't seem to know. Something else…at first he spoke in Chinese or something. Also, he kinda looked familiar. Like someone you've seen in a picture or a movie but not real life, ya know?"

"Really? Who did he look like?"

"He kinda looked like Ranma. I mean, he had black hair and was kinda short. The thing is he had these weird teeth. Probably fake. Ya know, he kinda looked like I've imagined some of your friends from Tokyo looked like."

"Huh. Maybe he was just a lost tourist."

"Probably."

And neither of them thought about it again.

A Week later…

Riley walked up to the school, ready to start another day. There was someone standing in front of the door, with a red umbrella shielding his head from the pouring rain. It was the same guy from a week ago. "You!" he said to Riley "Bring me to Ranma!" Riley was suspicious. Why was this young man so angry with Ranma? In any case, Ranma can save himself, so he brought the young man into the sitting room. "Have a seat." The man looked like he was having a hard time, but then obliged. No reason to be rude.

Ranma was stretching in the classroom. "Saotome, somebody is here to see you."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know, some guy. He didn't tell me his name."

Ranma nodded and went out to the waiting room.

Riley was naturally curious, and followed Ranma out of the room. When the visitor saw Ranma, he jumped up, ready to fight. "Ranma Saotome! I have finally found where you've hid yourself all this time!" he was scowling. Ranma on the other hand grinned. "Hey! Ryoga! How's it goin'?"

"Saotome! Prepare to die!"

As he dodged, Ranma tried to talk to him, slowly weaving his way into the training hall so his sitting room wouldn't be messed up by Ryoga's explosive anger.

"Long time no see! Why don't we go somewhere a little less crowded and less expensive to fix?"

"Don't act all nice and friendly with me, you snake! I've finally found you and there is no way I'm letting you out of this one alive!"

"Oh yeah?"

And the battle was on. Riley watched in amazement from the doorway. The new guy was good. He seemed to be giving Ranma a run for his money.

"I've been training for months, ready to fight you. You've gotten soft, living out here in a little dojo. There is no way you can win Saotome!"

The scuffle was very interesting to watch, as Ranma reverted to old fighting habits that Riley had never seen. Crazy moves like handstand kicks and impossibly fast footwork. But then, Ranma had been out of the Nerima loop for a long time. Ryoga was getting more hits in than he ever had and the fight started to slow as they both started to be winded. They stopped, each waiting for the next move, both breathing hard.

Riley stood at the door, a little surprised. 'Must be another person from his past' he thought while the two were fighting. I think he might have been in one of those pictures or something. The two were faced off now, each waiting for the other one to move first. The door behind Riley clicked open, and he turned slightly to see who had come in. Stephanie and Akane's cheerful voices filled the room. One glance at the scene within stopped them short.

Ryoga heard something while he was faced off with his friend/enemy. A very familiar voice filled his ears and brought of happy memories. Instantly the face that went along with it popped into his head and he was brought back to his obsessive days. He had Akari now, he reminded himself. But what hurt was there in remembering his first love? He turned towards the voice as it stopped abruptly, leaving himself completely open. He was slightly surprised when Ranma didn't take the opportunity.

"That's the guy, Akane. The guy who asked me where he was last week." Stephanie broke the silence with her surprised observation.

"That guy? Why, it's…" He was in front of her, bowing.

"-Hello, Akane-san, how very nice to see you here-"

"-You too, Ryoga, what are you doing here?-"

"-Well, I was going to the store for Akari, and somehow ended up on a cargo ship…-"

Stephanie nudged her arm.

"Oh. Ryoga-kun, this is my friend Stephanie. I see you already found Ranma." She watched him mentally switch to English to not be rude with her friends. "Stephanie, this is Ryoga Hibiki, a friend from home. He's the one you saw the other day?" Riley and Ranma had now joined the group.

"Amazing." Riley said, as he observed the embarrassed Ryoga talking politely with Akane and Steph.

"What?" Ranma came out of the dojo to join in on the scene and heard his friend's comment.

"That guy. He was so mad a few minutes ago, and now he's completely harmless!"

"Ahh, its just cause 'kane is here. He used to have this huge crush on her before he got together with Akari."

"Oh. So I'm guessing he's a friend from Tokyo?"

"Not exactly a friend, but yeah, I'd say we were on friendly terms now."

"Ya know, that's the guy that was here a week ago looking for you and I told him to come back the next day and he never did. So, I figured he was a bum or something. But now here he is. Did he get lost or something?" Riley asked with a chuckle.

"Probably." Ranma said nonchalantly. "At least he used to get lost on his way to the bathroom, I guess that hasn't changed."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

Akane looked over at the two conversing males and called to them. "Hey! Aren't you guys gonna come over and say hi?"

"We already have…" Ranma trailed off and motioned at the dojo as they crossed the room.

"So I might have guessed." Akane rolled her eyes at her once fiancé. "Ryoga-kun, this is our other friend, Riley."

The young Japanese man bowed. "Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise."

"Ryoga was just telling us about how everybody was doing." Akane nudged Ranma to be polite. "Ryoga, we have a class coming in pretty soon and since you and Ranma always fight, how about coming with Stephanie and I? I was going to work today, but I can take the day off." She turned to confirm with her 'employer'. He shrugged as if to say 'do what you want'. She then turned to her friend. "How bout some sightseeing then?" And they were off.

"Wow, that was wild." Riley just stared slack-jawed at the sight that just left the building. Ranma started back into the training hall, getting ready for his pupils that were due to start arriving in the next few minutes.

"You want to play secretary today, since Akane took the day off?"

"Sure, I can answer the phone." Ranma stopped in his tracks.

"Hang it all."

"What?"

"Akane's class is today. How could she forget and do that to her kids?"

"Don't worry, I can teach it."

"Yeah, I could too, but I wanted to get in another hour of practice with my higher class, since they have a test coming up. Could you pick it up and we'll go to the park?"

"Sure thing."

The door opened and the first few kids started showing up for their morning class.

"How has Akari-chan been lately?"

"Well, I sent her a postcard as soon as I could, so she wouldn't worry. She's been doing well. The farm has been thriving lately."

"I never really saw you as a farmer, Ryoga-kun, but I guess it's as good a profession as any."

"Kinda strange, really, how I've just kinda fallen into it. I don't hate the pigs as much anymore."

"That's good. Akari-chan sure does love them."

They were walking through the Japanese tea garden, chatting about old times and his travels, trying to include Stephanie as much as possible. Akane turned to her friend.

"I'm sorry, I feel like we're excluding you. You don't know any of these people." Stephanie snapped out of her listening-with-rapt-attention-to-the-amazing-conversation face to answer her worried friend.

"Don't worry about it. I've got the general idea of these people from the pictures, and it is pretty interesting to listen to, on a whole. So, Ryoga, your girlfriend's got a pig farm?" Ryoga turned to face the American girl.

"Yes, she does. Her family raises sumo pigs."

"Wow."

"Oh, Ryoga-kun, tell her how you met Akari-chan! It's such a funny story."

"Must I?"

"Oh, do tell me, Ryoga, I'm very interested to hear how you met a sumo pig farmer."

Ryoga sighed at the amused girls and told the tale of defeating the sumo pig when it attacked him and then Akari fell in love with him and how the rest is history. When

Stephanie managed to wipe the tears from her eyes, she managed to eek out "that was the best story!" These people were so amusing!

They all met up back at the apartments after their long days. To everyone's relief, the years apart and Akari seemed to have calmed the two rivals and they sat relatively quietly in the living room, with only minor outbursts from the two offending parties. At one point in the evening, Ryoga called their attention. "I, have an announcement to make. Since you all are here, I couldn't include you in the engagement party." Akane and Stephanie's faces brightened.

"Does that mean…"

"You should be receiving an invitation to Akari and my wedding in a few months."

"Congratulations! How exciting! I'm so glad for you Ryoga!" The girls were excited. "Akari didn't say anything to me on the phone!" Akane was incredulous. If she were engaged, she certainly would tell everybody… well except for that one time…you know what that means, anyways, if it were for real she would! Smoke started to come out of Ranma's ears. Ryoga smiled at his jealousy. 'Yes, Ranma, despite all your 'fiancées' in your youth, I'm first to have a real one!'

Ranma returned the smirk. 'Idiot. Great treat to be engaged to a pig girl to go along with pig boy… who am I kidding, he got there first and that just makes me angry.'

The evening was drawing to a close when Akane spoke up on the topic everyone was considering in their minds. "Ryoga, you should say with Ranma and Riley for the few days before you fly out." Everyone in the room looked her way.

"What?!?"

"I'm sure you two can sleep under the same roof for a few nights." The two mentioned glared at each other. Then of course, the other question rose in their eyes.

"Akari-chan called a little while ago. She bought you a ticket to fly back in a few days. She says you've been gone for a month!"

"How did she know to call you? Here?"

"Boys, boys, boys. And you should know by now. Connections, boys. She got the post card, saw you were in San Francisco, called Kasumi, who gave her our phone number, called us, booked a flight and commissioned us with getting you on it. She'll be at the other end to pick you up." The three Rs were dumbfounded by this explanation. Akane turned to her friend. "Why is it so hard for them to believe?" Steph closed her eyes and shook her head.

"They just don't get it, do they?" Finally, Ryoga managed to talk.

"O-okay. Thanks."

"Hey, man, let's go." Riley was almost out the door, Ranma was standing up, and poking the still sitting Ryoga.

"Bye guys, sleep well!" The girls closed the door behind them and then burst into laughter.

"Did you see their faces?" Akane laughed.

"Priceless!"

"How sweet, Akari-chan's engaged! I wonder why she didn't tell me?"

"Maybe she knew how much it meant to Ryoga to tell Ranma that she didn't want to spoil it. Is she like that though?"

"Yes, that would be something Akari-chan would do. I can't wait to talk to her again!"

"How are we going to keep the warring duo from getting in trouble for the next week?"

"I'm sure we'll think of something."

Amazingly enough, the week went off not too badly, only a few fights between those two over the dumbest things. Akane was proud. Maybe they were growing out of it? The day Ryoga would take his first real airplane flight, legally, was upon them. They made it to the airport the necessary two hours prior and they convinced the attendant that they all needed to go to the gate to make sure he actually got on the plane. They explained the situation to the stewardess, who after being alternately confused, pitying, angry and finally compliant and laughing, agreed to keep an eye on him on the plane.

As they were walking out, Ranma snapped his fingers, as if he'd just remembered something. "Aww man, I forgot to give it to him!"

"What?" Riley asked, a little confused. "What did you forget to give him?"

"His bottle of the Guide's herb stuff." he whispered to his friend. "You know the stuff."

"Oh yeah.. for the curse."

"Well, I guess I could give it to him as a wedding present."

Sure enough, a few months later a card came in the mail, two, rather, one for Ranma and guest, and one for Akane and guest. The RSVP cards were sent back, and the girls started planning. The wedding was in another couple months, so they started booking everything now. The plane, the hotel. The dresses. It was almost spring, and both girls kinda hoped this whole wedding thing would be just a teensy little hint in that direction…

* * *

A sneak peek at next chapter:

"Oh no. Hide me." Akane grabbed Stephanie's hand and pulled her into the next aisle. Steph looked around wildly, looking for the source of her distress.

"What?! What are we hiding from?" she whispered to her frantic friend.

"That." Akane pointed.

"What is it?" Steph looked in her finger's direction, a look of disgust taking over her features.

"A very bad omen."

* * *

Author's note: Argh, this thing won't keep my formatting... AAHHHH...Whatever, imagine pretty little break marks when the scene changes. It kind of is confusing without them, but try hard...Well, yet another chapter has magically appeared on my screen. As for Ryoga's and Ranma's very OOC ness, I never really thought that they fight all the time. They can stand to be in the same room together at least for a little while. And as Akane says, maybe they've grown up a little and see how pointless all that really is. And yes, I am an Akari fan. That last sentence, yeah, I really don't know where that is going… 

For all you Ryoga fans, I'm sorry his whole appearance took place in one chapter, but don't worry, he'll show up again real soon! After all, they are going to the wedding… Now this note is getting out of control, so here is another chapter, please review! And of course, I will be working on the update as soon as an idea comes to mind… TTFN, everybody and have a lovely Thanksgiving, since I probably won't update until then because of papers and what not.


	14. Horrors come in all shapes and sizes!

**Chapter 14 of Time Keeps on Ticking: Horrors come in all shapes and sizes**

"Oh no. Hide me." Akane grabbed Steph's hand and pulled her into the next aisle. Steph looked around wildly, looking for the source of her distress.

"What? What are we hiding from?" she whispered to her frantic friend.

"That." Akane whispered back, pointing at a little man that was very short, very ugly and just wrong looking.

"What is it?" She asked with a horrified look on her face.

"A very bad omen."

"Omen?" Akane practically ran down the aisle to the check-out register with a bewildered girl in tow.

SANFRANSANFRANSANFRANSANFRAN

_In a dim hotel room in the city by the bay, a small shadow reports to a boisterous one…_

"Master! I have found her!"

"Where is she?"

"In this city, my lord."

"You must locate her immediately!" the shadow turned to the wall, addressing an unknown personage "Oh my dear! I cannot imagine the horror you have been through, so far from my protection!" Turning back to the smaller one, a command was given. "Go!"

"Yes, master."

The little shadow disappeared into the night.

SANFRANSANFRANSANFRANSANFRAN

Back in the safety of the girl's apartment, Akane and Ranma held a secret counsel in the only private place—unfortunately, the bathroom.

"So, what's all the secrecy for?" Ranma glanced around the little windowless room with a rolled up towel under the locked door.

"You'll never guess who I saw at the store today." Akane whispered

"Probably not. All this for a grocery store run-in story?" Ranma laughed.

"Satsuke, that's who!"

"Satsuke, Satsuke?" He was alarmed now.

"Yes! Satsuke! Short, ugly, Kuno swearing, Satsuke!" Her whisper was now urgent and exasperated.

"Please tell me he no longer serves the Kunos!"

"Are you kidding."

"OH NO" he sat down on the toilet with a look of horror decorating his face. After a moment of stunned silence, he jumped back up. "We have to do something! If he sees either of us, you know it's the end!" Akane leaned back on the sink with her arms crossed.

"What are we going to do?"

"Wait out the storm."

"What? What does that mean?" Striking a pose, he continued his speech.

"We're going on a vacation. To the beach!"

"The beach?" Akane raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, to L.A.!"

"We can't just leave, Ranma, and you know it. The old Ranma would never have run from a challenge." He sighed and sat back down on the toilet.

"Yeah, well, the old Ranma has gotten used to a peaceful life."

"Your father would say you've gotten soft. Sitting here, teaching classes." He snapped his fingers.

"That's it!"

"What?"

"We need to go on a training trip! To the mountains!"

"You're starting to sound like Ryoga… no wait, you did it too…"

"Aww come on 'kane, its summer and hot and practically no kids are coming next week since its so hot and they're all on vacation. I'll just cancel the class and we can go to Tahoe or something!"

"Lake Tahoe? Isn't that expensive in the summer?"

"It's more expensive in the winter!"

"…"

"I know."

"Good."

"We'll leave in two days."

With the problem discussed and resolved, they unlocked the door and returned to the normal world. Riley was walking by when they made their noble egress and stopped in his tracks. "What were you guys doing in the bathroom? Together?" When he put it that way…

"Talking" They both answered at the same time.

"Ahh." Was his non committal answer.

"Riley, could you get Stephanie and come and talk in the living room in five minutes?" He gave him a strange look. "Sure thing. See you there." He left the apartment curious to know what was going on.

"Hey Steph, Saotome and Akane have called a family meeting in our living room in five minutes, after 'talking' in the bathroom. You know anything about this?"

"News to me. Hmm, I wonder if it has to do with…"

"What? What do you know??"

"Nah, why would we be involved with that?"

_5 minutes later_

"Well, thank you everyone for coming,"

"Yeah yeah, just tell us what's going on with you two. You guys eloping or something?"

They both turned crimson.

"Certainly not. Actually, we've decided to take a vacation."

"Great! We're we going? Why all of a sudden?"

"Lake Tahoe, actually. You see…" he explained "…So, that's why we've decided to leave."

"Is that the guy we saw at the store?" Stephanie asked her friend who was sitting on the couch next to her.

"Yeah, that was his servant."

Riley and Ranma were still talking "Wow, is this guy really so terrible that you can't take him?"

"I could, and have, but once he finds us, he will never leave us alone."

"How are you so sure?"

"He's obsessive." Akane nodded in agreement.

"Maniacal."

"Crazy. We must train."

Riley smiled. "To the lake then. When do we leave?"


End file.
